The last time the United States invested significantly in the region was during the John F. Kennedy administration (1961-1963), with some 10 billion U.S. dollars (the equivalent of 120 billion U.S. dollars at current prices), Lopez Obrador said during his daily press conference.
Archiv: Central / Latin America
CELAC VI Summit Supports Cuba and Argentina in Their Demands
Mexico’s Foreign Minister Ebrard explained that officials from 31 countries signed a Joint Declaration of 44 points and special accords.
Mexican president calls for „new coexistence“ of American states
The president made his comments on the 238th anniversary of the birth of Simon Bolivar at Chapultepec Castle in Mexico City, during the 21st foreign ministers meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
LATAM To Install Its Own Outer Space Agency
On Saturday, Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard welcomed the signing of an agreement establishing the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE).
‚A New Condor Plan Is Underway in Latin America‘, Morales Warns
These far-right politicians supplied Jeanine Añez’s Interim government with weaponry to repress the pro-democracy protests in Bolivia.
Argentina’s Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI) and the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) were also found to gather information on Morales to destabilize his government.
Hands Off Haiti!
Nonetheless, the American political and media establishments seem to blithely assume that Haiti’s internal affairs are very much America’s business. State Department spokesman Ned Price says “It is still the view of the United States that elections this year should proceed.” An “electoral timetable” proposed by Moïse was “backed by the Biden administration, though it rejected plans to hold a constitutional referendum.”
Haiti Govt Asks US, UN To Send Troops In
The US State Department and Pentagon both confirmed receiving a request for „security and investigative assistance“ and said officials remain in contact with Port-au-Prince, but did not specify whether military troops would be deployed.
The UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Italy Confirms 14 Life Sentences for Operation Condor Killers
On Friday, Italy’s Supreme Court confirmed life imprisonment for 14 former officials and military personnel from Chile and Uruguay who were charged with the murder of citizens during Operation Condor, a U.S. counterinsurgency strategy implemented in Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s.
US Allocates $310m for Central America, More Militarization
A group of advocates and grassroots organizations such as the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES), School of the Americas Watch, Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective, and the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) among others, denounced that this aid contributes to the militarization of the region and the strengthening of neoliberal policies that damage the communities and its natural resources and boost migration.
Biden and Latin America
Joe Biden’s first significant foray into Latin America policy began in the early 2000s when he was a US senator. As the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he helped President Bill Clinton secure funding for Plan Colombia, an initiative that equipped and trained Colombian military and police forces engaged, in theory, in counternarcotics activities.
Right-wing Central American leaders praise neoliberal ‘Biden Plan’ to strengthen US ‘sphere of influence’
Right-wing Central American politicians are applauding Plan Biden, a US strategy promising corporate investment in return for neoliberal reforms. They pledge to remain in the US “sphere of influence” and isolate China and Russia, while calling for regime change against Nicaragua’s leftist government.
Weltfrauentag in Lateinamerika unter Pandemiebedingungen
Am Nachmittag wird landesweit zu Demonstrationen aufgerufen, die am Abend in einem cacerolazo, also dem lauten Schlagen auf Töpfen und Pfannen, enden sollen, um „gegen Ausgangssperre und Staatsterrorismus“ zu demonstrieren.
COVID-19 pandemic and biopolitics in Latin America
(17. AUgust 2020)
At the time of this writing [June 3, 2020], Latin America has become the new epicenter of the pandemic with growing number of reported cases of infections and deaths. Various governments in Latin America (Peru, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil) and the Inter-American Development Bank have deployed digital technologies to control the transmission of the virus and to support testing and tracing. They have collaborated with private companies and universities in setting up mobile applications for geolocalizing and contact-tracing possibly infected people. Expectedly, these actions have raised concerns about the negative impact of massive surveillance.
However, while we recognize the legitimacy of these concerns, the problem in Latin America takes different dimensions than in Europe, North America, and East Asia. For the moment, the governments in the region have significant problems to launch and maintain massive digital surveillance apparatuses.
Does the #COVID-19 pandemic mark the birth of a new form of #biopolitics? The Latin American case shows important departures from Europe and the U.S., both in the adoption of surveillance technologies and in the types of biopolitical control
Biden and Trump compete for South Florida swing voters with anti-communist conspiracies and interventionist chest-beating
Aggressive efforts by both parties to court South Florida’s Latin American diaspora have shaped Miami’s political landscape into a paranoid, anti-communist madhouse as Election Day nears.
The US, Colombia To Carry Out Military Drill in the Caribbean
On August 27, Colombia’s President Ivan Duque authorized the presence of the U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB) in his country. Previously, however, the Cundinamarca Administrative Court ordered to suspend the activities of that foreign military unit.
When a wave of torture and murder staggered a small U.S. ally, truth was a casualty.
(Jun 11, 1995)
* The CIA was instrumental in training and equipping Battalion 316. Members were flown to a secret location in the United States for training in surveillance and interrogation, and later were given CIA training at Honduran bases.
* Starting in 1981, the United States secretly provided funds for Argentine counterinsurgency experts to train anti-Communist forces in Honduras. By that time, Argentina was notorious for its own „Dirty War,“ which had left at least 10,000 dead or „disappeared“ in the 1970s. Argentine and CIA instructors worked side by side training Battalion 316 members at a camp in Lepaterique, a town about 16 miles west of Tegucigalpa.
* Gen. Gustavo Alvarez Martinez, who as chief of the Honduran armed forces personally directed Battalion 316, received strong U.S. support – even after he told a U.S. ambassador that he intended to use the Argentine method of eliminating subversives.
* By 1983, when Alvarez’s oppressive methods were well known to the U.S. Embassy, the Reagan administration awarded him the Legion of Merit for „encouraging the success of democratic processes in Honduras.“ His friendship with Donald Winters, the CIA station chief in Honduras, was so close that when Winters adopted a child, he asked Alvarez to be the girl’s godfather.
Negroponte endorses Biden: He beats Trump on ‚character, compassion and life experience‘
John Negroponte, who served as director of national intelligence under former President George W. Bush, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden in his race against President Trump on Thursday in an interview with the Daily Beast.
“All roads lead to Trump in a way,” Negroponte told the website. “I’m just not sure the country can withstand another four years of the presidency with a man who has shown such disregard to the office.”
Puebla Group Discusses Peace in Colombia and Pandemic Crisis
The Puebla Group today is discussing the peace process in Colombia, the health crisis, and the regional economy, during a new virtual meeting that brings together progressive leaders from Latin America.
Thousands of Central Americans detained for flaunting coronavirus rules
Central America is home to a large, poor population with no options to work from home, take paid sick leave or observe social distancing rules because they work in the informal economy and live in crowded conditions.
Quieter and Quieter: The Evolution of Latin America’s Silent Coups
Then under Obama, coups changed. They went quiet. In the most cynical of moves, America, the champion of democracy, stopped using violence to undermine democracy and started using democracy to undermine democracy. Legitimately elected leaders began to fall, not to the bullet or bomb, but to coups in the disguise of democracy. The coup evolved into the silent coup: so silent, they were not heard nor noticed.
Bankers Shape Canadian Policy in Latin America. Juan Guaidó Fêted in Ottawa
What’s more likely to shape Canadian policy in the Hemisphere: human rights and democracy or bankers’ bottom-line?
ALBA-TCP to Speed Formation of a ‚Peace Zone‘ in Latin America
Facts attesting to the above are the economic blockade against Venezuela and Cuba, destabilization attempts against leftist governments, criminalization of protest in Chile, the murder of social leaders in Colombia, and the coup d’etat against Bolivia’s President Evo Morales, which was supported by the U.S.-controlled Organization of American States (OAS).
Pompeo says U.S. will help prevent Latin American protests becoming riots
“We in the Trump administration will continue to support countries trying to prevent Cuba and Venezuela from hijacking those protests and we’ll work with legitimate (governments) to prevent protests from morphing into riots and violence that don’t reflect the democratic will of the people,” Pompeo told an audience at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky.
Operation Condor Trial Tackles Coordinated Campaign By Latin American Dictatorships To Kill Leftists
(07.03.2013)
A historic trial underway in Argentina is set to reveal new details about how Latin American countries coordinated with each other in the 1970s and ’80s to eliminate political dissidents. The campaign known as „Operation Condor“ involved military dictatorships in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. They worked together to track down, kidnap and kill people they labeled as terrorists: leftist activists, labor organizers, students, priests, journalists, guerilla fighters and their families. The campaign was launched by the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and evidence shows the CIA and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger were complicit from its outset.
Operation Condor 2.0: After Bolivia coup, Trump dubs Nicaragua ‘national security threat’ and targets Mexico
After presiding over a far-right coup in Bolivia, the US dubbed Nicaragua a “national security threat” and announced new sanctions, while Trump designated drug cartels in Mexico as “terrorists” and refused to rule out military intervention.
OAS Seeks to Divide Latin American Countries: Zapatero
Likewise, the former Spanish President denounced the coup against the legitimate Bolivian President Evo Morales, while summoning the entire left of the continent to denounce the situation of that Andean nation.
‚Dictatorship has Returned to Bolivia‘: Morales to teleSUR
„Unfortunately, some countries subject to the U.S. empire, destroy the integration processes: Unasur a political instance, Mercosur an economic instance, Celag an integration of all Latin America towards the liberation of the peoples,“ President Morales continued.
Treffen der Puebla-Gruppe in Argentinien vom Putsch in Bolivien überschattet
Bei der vom 8. bis 10. November in der argentinischen Hauptstadt abgehaltenen Zusammenkunft waren 32 dem progressiven Lager zuzurechnende politische Führungspersonen aus zwölf Ländern anwesend. Unter den Teilnehmern befanden sich etwa die früheren Präsidenten Brasiliens, Uruguays, Paraguays und Kolumbiens, Dilma Rousseff, Pepe Mujica, Fernando Lugo und Ernesto Samper, sowie der uruguayische Präsidentschaftskandidat für die Frente Amplio, Daniel Martínez. Gastgeber war der designierte Präsident Argentiniens, Alberto Fernández. Boliviens Vizepräsident Álvaro García Linera hatte seine Teilnahme aufgrund der aktuellen politischen Ereignisse absagen müssen.
Coup Master: Michael Kozak, New US Envoy for Latin America
As the Western Hemisphere bureau is responsible for implementing U.S. policy in Latin America, Kozak returns to the region where he learned his trade as a coup master ready to constrict those countries that are not aligned with the U.S.
COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE FORTIETH REGULAR MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF HEADS OF GOVERNMENT OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, 3-5 JULY 2019
The Fortieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) was held at Gros Islet, Saint Lucia 3-5, July 2019 under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Honourable Allen Chastanet.
4th Fleet-Led UNITAS 2019 Pacific Exercise Focuses on Sub-Hunting, Humanitarian Assistance
The U.S. Navy and its partners in Central and South America just wrapped up the UNITAS 2019 Pacific exercise, with a U.S. destroyer leading the 13-nation force through an anti-submarine and surface warfare drill.
In the 60th iteration of the annual exercise in U.S. 4th Fleet, the forces melded sea- and air-control skills with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief practice, to ensure the partners could come together if needed for a range of missions.
Caricom-Cuba Summit Denounces US Blockade on Cuba
Representatives from Caricom nations met with officials from the island nation of Cuba in Georgetown, Guyana on June 14 to discuss issues uniquely affecting Caribbean countries made up of islands and coastal nations particularly vulnerable to environmental threats and natural disasters and to continue the work of integration.
Bolivia: Evo Rips Critics ‚Installed by Coups, Military Dictatorships, and Plan Condor‘
Twenty-one presidents from the linguistically and historically connected nations, who sometimes associate as the Ibero-American countries, signed a letter Monday condemning the Bolivian president’s campaign for reelection, calling on the Organization of American States to intervene.
Mexico to deploy 6,000 troops to southern border as Trump postpones tariffs
On Thursday, Mexican officials announced plans to deploy 6,000 Mexican National Guard troops to Mexico’s southern border. The deployment will consist of 13 units made up of between 450 and 600 troops. Ten units will be sent to the border with Guatemala, where most Central American asylum seekers cross into Mexico, and three will operate in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec region of southern Mexico. The troops are set to arrive by September.
Facebook Busts Israeli Campaign to Disrupt Elections in African, Asian and Latin American Nations
Facebook has faced pressure to more transparently tackle misinformation since the revelation that Russia used Facebook to sway the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
„Pompeo has Lost His Mind“: Chinese Ambassador to Chile
„The United States has not made substantial contributions to the economic development of Latin American countries but accuses China of its economic and trade cooperation with Latin America and its investment in Latin America. Mr. Pompeo is a hypocrite,” he continued, pointing out that China invested US$6 billion more than the U.S. in Chile and they exceeded their trade with the South American nation by US$42 billion.
Xu then referenced U.S. history and its military interventions and sanctions in several Latin American nations.
The U.S. is thinking of invading Venezuela. That’s unlikely to lead to democracy.
(25.3.2019)
In 2015, the Obama administration declared Venezuela a national security threat, following months of protests and subsequent government repression. That declaration opened the door for sanctions against individuals in the Maduro government. The administration’s logic was that economic pressure would encourage military defection and compel the regime either to democratize or collapse, but neither happened.
History of US Brutal Militarized Invasions in Latin America
Throughout the 1900s, the United States organized military interventions in the region, imposing its chosen leaders in Latin American nations.
Word for Word: Excange between Rep. Ilhan Omar and Elliott Abrams (C-SPAN)
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) has a heated exchange with Elliot Abrams, the U.S. special envoy to Venezuela, highlighting his role in the Iran-Contra affair. She says, „I fail to understand why members of this committee or the American people should find any testimony you give today to be truthful.“ The exchange came during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
Indictments and Pleas: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ELLIOTT ABRAMS, Defendant.
(7. Oktober 1991) From July 1985 through 1988, ELLIOTT ABRAMS was Assistant Secretary of State and headed the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Inter-American Affairs.
As Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs, MR. ABRAMS chaired a Restricted Interagency Group („RIG“) comprised of, among others, representatives of the United States Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Central Intelligence Agency („CIA“), the National Security Council („NSC* 1 ), and the Department of State. During 1985 and 1986, the RIG met regularly to coordinate the activities of these agencies in Central America.
Elliott Abrams Admits His Guilt On 2 Counts in Contra Cover-Up
(8. Oktober 1991) As the State Department’s point man on Latin America, Mr. Abrams headed the Restricted Interagency Group, a panel that coordinated the Administration’s Central America policy among officials at the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon.
Other members included Mr. North, the Marine Corps lieutenant colonel and White House aide who managed the day-to-day operations of secretly aiding the Nicaraguan rebels, and Alan D. Fiers Jr., who supervised Central Intelligence Agency activities in Central America.
In this capacity, Mr. Abrams operated as a high-visibility figure who seemed to relish his combative public role in defending Administration policy in Central America, while at the same time working closely with officials who were engaged in secret efforts to supply the rebels with arms after Congress barred direct military assistance in late 1984.
U.S. congresswoman @IlhanMN and convicted (then pardoned) Iran-Contra felon Elliott Abrams in an exchange marked by Abrams’ disrespectful interruption of Rep. Omar’s statement. Reclaiming her time!
Omar, Trump envoy Elliott Abrams clash in fiery exchange
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) engaged in a testy back and forth on Wednesday with special envoy to Venezuela Elliott Abrams, accusing the diplomat of being a liar and pressing him on his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair and killings in Central America during the Reagan administration.
Great to meet Bolivia’s Vice President Álvaro García Linera today, who along with Mexico and Uruguay are already playing an important role in mediating a negotiated political solution in Venezuela.
US senators urge Evo not to be re-elected
“Bolivia is heading in a very dangerous direction, aligning itself with illegitimate and illegal regimes, including that of (Nicolás) Maduro in Venezuela. It is important that all parties respect the Constitution of Bolivia, which includes limits on mandates,” said Republican Senator Ted Cruz. The resolution, led by Democratic lawmaker Bob Menéndez, calls on Latin American democracies, including Bolivia, to respect “the peaceful regular transfers of power through elections.”
Venezuela Confronts US-backed Right-wing Coup
The United States and its right-wing allies in Latin America have come out in support of a parliamentary right-wing coup against the Venezuelan government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro after they supported a decision by opposition lawmaker, named Juan Guaido, to declare himself an “interim president” of Venezuela on Jan. 23 in violation of the country’s constitution.
Washington, Canada and members of the so-called Lima Group, which include Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Paraguay, and others were quick to recognize Guaido as “interim president” with the government of Donald Trump and his advisors urging the country’s military to step in and rebel against Maduro. The military has repeatedly stated its full support for the Maduro government and rejected such calls as interventionist and a breach of the sovereignty of Venezuela.
6 Days, 6 Deaths: More Murder of Social Leaders in Colombia
Murdered Jan. 6 by hitmen for fighting for land rights in northern Colombia, Maritza Quiroz Leiva becomes the country’s 6th murder within six days of the new year.
Mexico: UN, NGOs Condemn Murder of Activist Sinar Corzo
The murder of Mexican activist and human rights defender Sinar Corzo Esquinca in Chiapas late Thursday has been publicly condemned by the United Nations and more than 100 non-governmental organizations.
Mike Pompeo Starts Imperialist Latin American Tour
United States (U.S.) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading to Brazil for the induction ceremony of incoming, far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, then he will head to Colombia, and is looking to strengthen the „relations, in regional affairs, and around the globe.“ This trip aims mainly to strengthen the U.S. influence over what they think to be their „backyard,“ – the Latin American region.
ALBA’s 16th Summit: Towards A Democratic International Order
“We reaffirm the need to strengthen the community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as a mechanism of regional political concentration based on respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-intervention in the internal affairs of each country.”
Argentina: G20, Counter Summit and Protests Come to a Head
The counter summit against the G20 has already begun and is organized around creating a “common agenda for Latin America.” Cecilia Nahon, former Argentine ambassador to the United States has said, “Today there is no Latin American agenda in the G20. There is no common agenda for Argentina, Brazil, or Mexico.”
Defense Secretary James Mattis presides over Southcom change of command
Defense Secretary James Mattis said the U.S. military brings stability to most of Latin America through its operations at the South Florida-based Southern Command headquarters.
Mattis spoke Monday at a ceremony appointing Navy Adm. Craig Faller as new leader of the command that oversees U.S. military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also responsible for security of the Panama Canal and the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
International Day of Campesino Struggle Marked in Latin America
Every year, on April 17, social movements and Campesinos commemorate the International Day of Campesino Struggle to honor the 19 campesinos of Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement murdered by Brazilian military in the northern state of Para on April 17, 1996 during a protest to demand their right to land.
Latin America Leaders Condemn US-led Attack on Syria
Several Latin American governments, including those in Cuba and Venezuela, as well as regional leaders and presidents condemned Saturday the attacks by the U.S., France and the United Kingdom on Syria, using as a pretext the alleged use of chemical weapons in Douma by President Bashar Assad’s forces without proper investigations being done.